Window-operating mechanism



April 14, 1925.

'A. ZITTERBART WINDOW OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 6, 1922 3 Shuts-Sheet 1 1% INNER .1

Aprii14 1925. 1,533,155

A. ZITTERBART wnunow OPERATING MEcHmI su 171 70771 egs April 14, 1925.

A. ZITTERBART wiunow OPERATING MECHANISM 5.. e 7 Q w w M, m 3 R W M i I I M? Q MI I MM "Filed Feb. 6, 192

Patented Apr. id, M25.

Nl'l'" STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTHONY ZITTERBART, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MATTHIAS S'IRODEL 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

WINDOW-OPERATING mnonamsm.

Application filed February 6, 192?. Serial No. 534,434.

To all whom ill may concern.

Be it known that l, An'rnonr Zrnnnnnnr,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in lhe county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in lVindow-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to window operating mechanisms and is more particularly designed for use in connection with vehicle windows for raising and lowering the glass panels of such windows.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a window operating mechanism for the doors of vehicles such, for instance, as automobiles, which shall dispense with the sprocket chain that up to the present has been extensively used in the Window raising and lowering mechanism of automobiles. In such structures there is generally provided a lower idler sprocket wheel and an upper operating sprocket wheel rotated by a handle mounted on the interior face of the door. A sprocket chain rides over these wheels and is provided with a device or mechanism arranged to engage the lower edge of the win dow for raising and lowering the same. One of the difiiculties contended with in this structure is that of the sprocket chain jumping ofi' oneor the other sprocket wheel. The

chain has to have a certain amount of slack to readily run over the sprockets and frequently, particularly after the chain has been in use for a length of time and the parts hecome slightly worn or loosened, the chain will dump oil the sprocket, especially if any unusual strain is exerted thereon necessitating partially dismantling the door. to get at the apparatus for repair.

Another objection to the sprocket chain structure is the cost of manufacture and the diili culty in placing the structure in position. The two sprocket Wheels have to be carefully aligned relatively to oneanother and relatively to the glass panel to insure easy running of the device and to prevent the sprocket from jumping one of the wheels. The sprocket chain itself is a costly device and is easily gotten out of order.

Another object of my invention is to provide a structure particularly designed for raising or lowering the-glass panels of automobile doors and the like, which dispenses entirely with a sprocket wheel and which at the same time will operate in the limited space provided in an automobile door for devices of this character and provide more complete raising and lmvcring of the glass panel.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a device of this character a mechanism which shall comprise in itself a complete unit completely assembled and ready for insertion in the door.

Another object of my invention is to provide in an apparatus of this character a structure wherein the necessity of aligning the various parts after or during assembly in the door is dispensed-with and to provide a device wherein the parts may all be assembled and properly aligned before being, placed in position in the door.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear in the accompanying specification and claims,

For the purpose of disclosing the invention certain embodiments thereof have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an automobile door, the portion of the interior lining being broken-away to show the window operating mechanism in position.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and showing the window operating mechanism more in detail,

Fig. at is a detail View showing the position of the rack in a portion of its movement.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the operating mechanism in its lowered position,

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken on the line (i6 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6 showing the locking mechanism in looking position,

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the look ing mechanism unlocked,

Fig. 9 is adetail section on the line 9-4) line of Fig. 4,

Fig. 12 is a side elevationof a modified form of my invention,

Fig. 13 IS a sectional view taken on the hue 13 13 of l2, and

14 a sectional view taken on the line --14 of Fig. 12.

In the embodiment illustrated I have shown a conventional door 1 for use on an automobile of the closed type. This door as is usual is provided with awindow frame 2 at its upper part and awindow well 3 at its lower part, the window glass at being the glass to be raised and lowered therethrough and bracing panels 7, Sand 9 are secured within the well to provide means for attaching the lining of the door and for securing the raising and lowering mechanism in position. p I

The parts of the raising and lower ng mechanism are all mountedon a supporting and guide plate 10 which preferably coinprises a fiat rectangular plate provided at each end with a pair of integrally formed horizontallydisposed securing ears 11 which extend at right angles to the plate and provide .means for attaching, by means of screws, the plate in position. The plate'is also provided at each end with a pair of integrally formed angularly disposed ears 12 in which are supported vertical guides 13 which preferably take the form of guide rods secured between these cars 12. A raising and lowering carriage or window attached member 14 moves vertically on these guide rods and on its front face is provided with an angle 15 forming a seat for thelower edge of the window glass 4. This glass is preferably secured at its lower edge in a channel member 15 by the usual means provided for such a structure, such for in-' stance as imbedding the lower edge of the glass in shellac in the channel and the chan' nel secured to the angle 15 by means of screws, if desired, or gravity may be depended upon for causing the glass to drop as the window attached member 14 is lowered. The window attached member 1a is raised and lowered by a continuous looped shaped rack having a. pair of oppositely disposed 4 parallel side members 17 and 18 which at the preferred construction are providedwith .is provided with an annular their ends merge into semi-circular ends 19 and 20. The outer edges of this member in rack teeth while the inner edges are straight. This rack member is secured on the face of the plate 10 by means of a circular rotatable disk 21 which fits within the rack member and has its outeredges engaged by the rack member. The outer face of this disk wheel flange 22 which overlaps the face of the rack member to ore vent displacement of the rack member ii-om the plate and the disk is provided with a central opening to receive the hub 23, which hub is sec-iired to the plate 10 by screws ex- I the oi 1:. One end of the rack is rovided with a pin 25 arranged to project t rough a formed in the plate 10. This slot, as ilh af rated, is straight from end to end with the exception of its middle portion 27 which ill is "seni-circular and" concentric with the guide disk 21. This pin 25- on the rack engages in a transversely extending slot or recess 28 on the elevator so that th. window attached member will be raised ano lowered with the rack and at the same time the pin v may move transversely in the slot.

Therack is engaged and operated by 'a gear 29 rotatably mounted on the face plate, which gear on its face is provided with a disk cover 30 of substantially the same diameter as the diameter of the gear whereby it will overlap the face of the rack to insure with the flange on the center guide disk 21 the guiding of therack and prevent the rack from slipping olffthe gear. This gear is provided with an enlarged hub ing through and bearing in the base plate 10 and on its inner face thishub has formed therein and estendino to the periphery thereof a reetio'irular recess Mounted within the reccsws a reciprocating locking dog 33, the outer edge of which is provided with teeth arranged, when the dog is forced outwardly under the influence of the coil springs 34 interposed between the base of the dog and the bottom of the recess, to en gagein the rack teeth formed on the inner periphery of an annular ring secured to the face of the base and thereby lock the 31 extend gear against rotation. This locks and holds ino\-.:d to any desired position and locked in The gear is rotated by means said position. of a shaft 36 which is provided with asubstantially triangulaily shaped cam 37. The base of this cam is ari'anged'to exrage with. the bottom of the locking dog3'2i. provide not only a mechanism for rotat'in the gear but for automatically releasm; t e locking dog when the shaft is rotated. This operation is shown in'Figs. '7 and Set the drawings. When the shaft 36 is rotated in either direction the base I engagement with the ,dog and move the inwardly until the bottom of the into engagement with the bottom of the. recess 32 on thechub, after which further movement of the cam will be the gear tlO and shaft will move together. cover plate 38 [its over the hub and is sccu ge thereon by s'ait'al'iie machine screws.

in assenibty, the parts above described are prevented and of the cam will rock in dog; dog comes all assembled on the base plate before introduction into the window well of the door so that the device comprises a complete unitary structure.-'-- It: will be seen that the parts are of such construction and arrangement sarily made with stamping are the two guide I rodeliiiand sibly the window attached member 14, a though the guide bars could bemade fiat instead of round to enable them to be iormed from-stampings.

"fl assembled unit isplaced in the well of the door, suitable screws being passed through the bottom ears ll for securing the lower end ofthe mechanism to thebottom brace 59. At its top the ears 11 on the plate Ltd-ace secured to a cross piece 39 beneath the rai 6,, or the mechanism may be secured in position in any other desired manner. The squared end 100f the shaft 36 is projected through the central brace 8 and; after the lining and padding issecured on the inner face of the door the operating handle 41 which makes a slip connection with the squared end of the shaft is secured in posi' tion on the door. The lower end of the glass having been secured on the channel-15, all the parts are in condition for operation.

In operatiomreferring particularly to Figs. 3, a and 5, with the rack in its raised position, the gear 29 will be rotated by the handle 41 in the direction of the arrow. The upper end of the rack being held against rotation by the engagement of the pin 25 in the slot 26, the rack .bar will be lowered until its upper end coincides with the guiding disk Due to the fact that the slot 26 at this point is semi-circular, the guide-pin 25 will now no longer hold the rack bar against rotation and the bar will be rotated on the guide dial; 21 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4:, the elongate slot 28 in the window attached member 14' permitting the pin 25 to move transversely while still maintaining opcra'tin' engagement with the window attached nmibcr. A ,intinued rotation of the gear 25 ill eventually raise the lower end of ch to the top, presenting the side 18 to gear, and by continuing the rotation. '11 a gear 29 in the same direction the raclr ll continue in its downward moveine t th the pin operating in the botrraight portion of the slot 26. The w attached member lat is thus lowered its extreme upper position to its ex- 1 lower position and the glass comilcely lowered in the well. In rotating the handle 41 for the purpose of operating the shaft of the, driviugggear. as heretofore ex- ,plained the teeth of the locking dog 33 will be moved out of engagement with the teeth of the rack 35 so that the handle will be free to rotate. Since, however, as soon as pressure is released on the handle 41 the springs 34- will throw the dog outwardly and the teeth thereof into engagement with the rack on the ring 35 the gear will be locked against rotation and the parts held in whatever posi tion to which they may have been moved. This is particularly advantageous as it permits the glass to be locked in any position to which it may be moved without attention on the part of the operator. The mere releasing of the handle locks the glass in the position to which it is moved.

For elevating the glass, the handle is operated in a reverse direction to that heretofore described and the same movement will take place on the part of the rack except in a reverse direction. It is thus seen that by reversing the rack and causing the rack teeth on one side of ,the rack first to engage the gear and then the rack teeth on the opposite side of the rack member to engage the gear, I am enabled to get a movement of the window attached member substantially twice the length of that of the rack whereby-the device may be operated in comparatively limited space.

In Fi s. 12, 13 and 14 I have illustrated a modi ed form of elevating mechanism wherein the rack teeth are formed on the inneredge of the member with the operating gear 29 arranged within the member. In this instance a guide gib 42 is provided on the base instead of the disk guide 21 rovided in the apparatus illustrated in igs. 1 to 11. In other respects, however, the operation and construction of the apparatus is substantially the same.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a window operating device, the combination with a window attached member, of means for imparting movement thereto including a gear wheel, a. pair of parallel racks connected to said window attached member 'i erated by said gear wheel and arranged to successively engage said gear wheel, so as to be moved endwise and be reversed by said gear wheel and means for locking said racks in any position to which they may be moved.

2. In a window operating device, the combination with a window attached member, of means for imparting movement thereto including a gear wheel, a pairof parallel racks connected to said window attached member operated by said gear wheel and arranged to successively engage said gear wheel, so as to be moved endwise and be reversed by said g'ear wheel, and means for locking said gear wheel against rotation in any position in which it may be turned when operating said racks.

3. In a window operating device, the combination with a window attached member, of means of imparting movement thereto including a gearwheel, a pair of parallel racks connected to said window attuched member operated by said gear wheel so as to be moved endwiseand be reversed by said gear wheel, and means for locking said gear'wheel against rotation automatically disengaged by the application, of power to said gear wheel for rotating the same.

4. The combination with a member to be I as to be moved endwise and be reversed by said gear wheel a shaft for rotating said gear wheel, ahandle mounted on said shait, means for locking said gear wheel against rotation, and means operated by said handle in turning the gear wheel for rendering said locking means inoperative. 5. In a window operating device, the combination with a window attached. mem ber, of a base membenguide means 'iorsaid window attached member secured to said base member, and means for imparting movement to said window attached mem- Ler including a gear wheel and a pair of parallel and reversible racks mounted on said base member, said racksbejing operated by said gear wheel and arranged to suecessively engage said gear wheel and be moved thereby to continue the movement ofsaid racks and window attached member in the same direction.

ANTHONY ZITTEBBART, 

